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99 Restoration
Posted by Lane Dexter (more from Lane Dexter) on Fri, 7 Apr 2000 12:05:25
In Reply to: , Kok Chen, Sat, 17 Dec 1988 12:00:00 

Back when we got our 1978 99 Turbo new on the last day of November 1978, I 
was tickled with it -- even though $9,800 plus tax and license was a LOT of 
money.  As I came to know the car, I remarked that I felt I could not buy a 
car that did as many things as well for $40,000.  Remember, that was the 
price of a Ferrari back then.  I haven't really changed my mind.

In recent years, I've remarked that, 'I sure wish I could buy a brand new 99 
Turbo right now for ten grand.'  I'm about to give up on our present 99 
Turbo and give/swap it to some young Saab enthusiast.  But I suddenly 
wondered:  COULD you get a 'new' 99T for ten grand?

Any thoughts, guesstimates?  Let's stipulate a 99Turbo with most of the 
usual things wrong.  We're in good shape for tires and wheels, but 'the 
usual' includes:

'Use car salesman speedometer' -- where it shows speed but not miles driven.

Standard problems with heat/defrost controls.

Turbo is shot, and typically the exhaust manifold will have a crack 
somewhere by now.

Engine needs to be gone through, and so should transaxle after this many 
years.

Seats bad.  Headliner gone.

Bodywork would be very minor, but at 22 years, we're about ready for paint.  
Maybe crack on one layer of windshield, but no glass broken out.

At this age, plastic grillework is in poor shape when you look close, and 
usually at least one front corner shows repairs to the turn/cornering light 
lenses.

After more than two decades, likely every rubber bushing in the suspension 
needs to be renewed.  Brakes will need attention. Wheelbearings and CV 
joints may or may need replacement.

What say?  Can a tired old 99T be made 'new' for anywhere near what the car 
cost on the lot in 1978?

Too bad it's easier to go deep in debt on a $40,000 new vehicle than it is 
to finance restoring an old one.

Lane
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